


The Tactician's Challenge of the Heart

by Myrmiri



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, also alternatively: i'm moronsexual, alternatively: local idiot confesses his feelings but is shit at expressing them, gross gross fluff, local idiot tries to confess his feelings but fucks up, mild bit o angst but more fluff than anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 05:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17522762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myrmiri/pseuds/Myrmiri
Summary: Robin's plan to help the West-Khan's right-hand man get over his fear of women had worked well. Probably a little too well, she soon came to discover.Not everything works out as smoothly as you would think, however.





	The Tactician's Challenge of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> i replayed awakening and got feelings for lon'qu again. therefore, everyone that reads this is going to suffer with these thoughts with me

          Robin never would have thought that her plan to help Lon'qu over his fear of women would have worked as well as it had. Enough for him to develop feelings for her, anyways. Trying to befriend him at first was like trying to pet a porcupine, with how reluctant he was to be within a few feet of a woman. Fighting alongside him on the battlefield helped him out somewhat, though Robin figures that the heat of the battle was what made him put his fears aside to dispatch the enemy.

          After Lon'qu tripped over his tongue a couple of times to confess how he felt, he'd given her a ring to symbolize their union. One Robin wore with pride. 

          Battle after battle they would fight side by side, with Robin at a distance and Lon'qu clashing weapons with their adversaries. As thanks for helping him get over his fear at least somewhat, he'd helped her to better her own sword-wielding through sparring. Though as he'd essentially mastered the sword, he was always able to beat her. Not that there were any hard feelings from her, anyways. She could feel herself getting better the more they sparred together.

          With all that they'd been through together, Lon'qu was still a bit reluctant in being around her. He'd opened up to her as to why that was, but even after all this time, it seemed he he just couldn't bring himself to do anything that would even remotely be considered as affectionate. He was always stiff whenever Robin did so much as touch his arm. Were she anyone else, she'd have been hurt by his distant attitude. But she knew better than to expect him to get over his fears just because he'd confessed. She was already proud of him for even walking up to her and saying how he felt in the first place, as odd as the way he'd worded it was. It was a step in the right direction.

          But, she still wanted to help him. The figs may have worked that one time, but they wouldn't really work this time around. Robin always spotted him eyeing the plate of figs warily when they and the rest of their company sat down to eat.

          As it was late in the evening and they were all settling down to rest, Robin spent her time devising a way to help Lon'qu open up his heart a little more to let her in. This was a delicate matter for sure, not one she could just brute-force her way through like a barbarian. The first thing she absolutely didn't want was to upset him and make him recede further away. She rubbed her chin as she idly turned the pages of her book. The feeling of doing so helped with her thinking, not so much reading it. There was nothing a book on war tactics could do in matters of the heart anyways.

          Her brow furrows as she stops on a page, shutting her eyes for only a moment. They were beginning to hurt. The sunset had passed quite a bit ago, and seeing as Frederick was the only one really walking around, Robin figures it was late enough for everyone else to have went to sleep. She was too frustrated to sleep regardless. Her determination to help was far too great... even if she ragged on the others to get more sleep as being tired in a fight could be deadly. She laughed to herself, she really ought to take her own advice.

          Though, perhaps getting some sleep would help refresh her thoughts. Just as she was about to shut her book, she hears footsteps approaching. Slow enough for Robin to recognize that it was just an ally.

          "Robin?" She looked up at hearing Lon'qu's voice, seeing him stop a few feet away. She'd smiled.

          "Yes?" Her head tilts as she looked up at him, wondering what he'd approached her for.

          "You're still up." He pointed out, his brow furrowing. "Is something the matter?"

          "Oh, no. Not necessarily." Robin turned the cover of her book, tucking it under her arm as she stood up. "I'd felt like doing a bit of reading before bed. A bit of a review of our tactics." Slowly, he arched a brow at her.  _Damn,_ she thought. It was obvious he could see right through her lie, and so she sighed. "I could ask the same of you, anyways. What are you doing still up?"

          Quietly, he shook his head at her, yet he responded, "I've been... thinking, I suppose." After a short pause, Lon'qu gestures to the seat next to the one she'd just been sitting in. "May I?"

          "Of course you can." She nods, and he sits down with her following shortly after. "Please, don't feel like you have to ask to join me."

          "I'm aware." To her, he sounded a bit frustrated, though that didn't seem to be directed at her. Gingerly, Robin set her tactics book down on the little table nearby, simply so that her hands were free.

          "What's on your mind?" She questioned softly, giving him her full attention.

          "A... a lot." His response was awkward, and he seemed quite on-edge. While she was concerned, she didn't think Lon'qu would get into any sort of illicit situation... right? He struggled with what to say, clearly, which Robin decides to lightly clear her throat.

          "Have you gambled something of importance away?" She asked him, smiling again at him when he turned his head to give her a look as if she'd grown a third eye. "Or did someone else pelt you with a different kind of fruit?" She lets out a little, dramatic gasp, covering her mouth. "Was it pears? Plums?"

          Lon'qu let out a sudden chuckle. "Gods. Must you always bring that up?"

          "I got you to laugh, didn't I?" Proud of herself, Robin folded her hands in her lap. "My point is, you can tell me anything. I'll always be here for you."

          "I know." He responded quickly, turning his head away before sighing. "I... I know. You've made that clear enough these last months." He fell silent before resting an elbow on one knee, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand as he'd hunched over. She lets him take his time working up the nerve to say what he wanted to say, watching him. She almost considered setting a hand on his back to comfort him through whatever inner demons he was struggling with, but she feared she would have given him a heart attack if she went through with it. 

          After a while, though, she decided that maybe he needed a bit of a push in the right direction. "Lon'qu?"

          "I'm fine." He insisted as he sat up. "I'm... I'm truly grateful for your help. Without your influence, I don't think this would have been possible." He stiffened up and cleared his throat. "That, ah... that I would be able to speak as freely to you as I am now, I mean."

          "...What's this about?" Robin let out a sheepish chuckle. "You sound like you're saying goodbye." Even if she'd laughed to diffuse some of the tension she'd felt, she couldn't stop the faint feeling of dread growing in the pit of her stomach. His hesitation didn't really help much either. Her smile fades as he continued to remain silent.

          "I  _do_ care for you. I'm honest when I say that." She glances down at his hands, seeing just how tightly he was wringing them together. It worried her. "Yet... I don't think I..." He fell silent again, taking a deep breath and continuing to speak. "...I'm not confident in being able to give you what a man would normally give to a woman when he cares deeply about her." Lon'qu's brows knit together again, his leg bouncing seemingly due to nerves. "I don't wish to disappoint you. To- to regret this the longer you stay."

          For a moment, Robin is at a loss for words. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to say — she simply couldn't believe that he was telling her this. That this was a concern for him in the first place. She just sat there with her mouth slightly open, utterly confused and actually feeling a bit hurt with his words. When Robin finds her voice, she'd looked at the side of his head, as he'd refused to look at her. "You don't truly think that... do you?"

          His eyes shut. Though the ambiance of the outside world at night filled the silence, she still wasn't comfortable with the silence between them. She didn't like it. The cricket chirping sounded like it aligned with her beating heart, her fingers finding the ring around her finger and anxiously twisting it around.

          "...I apologize." He eventually responded in a cryptic manner. She could see that he was about to stand up. "I-"

          Robin promptly reached out and laid her hand on his shoulder. He froze halfway through getting up from the chair. She gives him a stern look, though Lon'qu still didn't seem like he could bring himself to look at her. "Lon'qu." He flinches slightly as she said his name. Letting out a soft breath of air, Robin applied a light amount of pressure on his shoulder. "Sit back down. Please."

          A moment of hesitation passes before he quietly sat back down. The tactician could see a bead of sweat rolling down his temple, despite it being a rather cool night out. With a sigh, she slid her hand down to rest it on his arm and squeezed gently. 

          "Damned fool..." A weak laugh follows her actions. "Don't decide things for me before I have a chance to get a word in." Though once again, she sighed and leaned closer somewhat. "Truth be told... I was thinking of the same thing. With your reluctance to stick around longer than this." That got his attention, his head raising slightly to show that he was listening to her. "I was trying to think of a way to help you through it. I know this is a more... delicate matter than before, but..." She shut her mouth, thinking of the right words to say. But, Robin shook her head quickly after. "It's okay."

          Even though she only had a clear view of the side of his face, she could see the confusion that crossed the half of his features that were visible to her. "What do you mean?" Hearing Lon'qu speak to her again made her feel a bit more at ease.

          "I mean, it's okay." She repeats herself. "Hey... look at me." She feels him stiffen under her hand. Hesitation. "Look at me." Her tone was a bit firmer, but by no means hostile. Eventually, he looked back up at her. She could see the concern in his eyes, the regret and anxiety that lain underneath that normally cool exterior. He wouldn't have been caught dead looking so vulnerable around the others. Robin was happy that he trusted her with that vulnerability. "I don't care that you've a hard time expressing yourself. That's how I know you, after all."

          "I... can't say I understand." The confused expression on his face almost reminded her of a dog tilting its head, to the point she covers her mouth with her free hand and held back a laugh. The crease between his brows only deepened as she giggled.

          "Don't you remember when we first met you?" Robin asked him. "You panicked a little bit when Lissa came a little too close to you. You were always prickly, even when you and I got closer. Though, you're considerably less prickly now than you were back then." An expression of realization surfaces on his face before it quietly turned into understanding. "Are you finally understanding what I'm saying?"

          "I suppose I do." Lon'qu paused for a moment before he exhaled. "You truly don't mind?"

          "Think of it this way," she began as she gingerly reaches for his hand with her free one, "would I have accepted your confession and ring if I found you to be insufferable after all the time we've spent together?"

          In the moonlight, she could see his cheeks redden. Whether it was from embarrassment or shame for his thoughts, she didn't know. When she squeezed his fingers, he doesn't pull his hand away. He looked down at their hands before he ultimately decided to turn his hand palm-up and close his fingers around hers. "...You'll have to forgive me for my foolish behavior. I've never held a woman this close to myself before."

          "I know." Robin nodded her head in confidence. "You  _are_ a fool, but it's part of why I love you." Lon'qu let out a sharp breath of air, akin to a laugh as he looked back down at the ground. Perhaps he was satisfied with her declaration. He certainly seemed like he was more at ease now than he had been a few minutes before. She leaned closer to him again until she could see his face, and he glanced at her. "These things take time. I don't expect you to get over your fears right away. So... don't feel pressured into getting over it as quickly as possible. I'm willing to wait for as long as you need."

          "...Thank you." His tone sounds a bit gruff, like he was holding his emotions back before he'd made a fool of himself yet again. She decides that she wasn't having it, lifting the hand she held on his arm off and drawing her own arm around his shoulders.

          "Come here, you oaf." Robin lightly tugs him closer, leaning back in her seat so she could release his hand and pull his head closer to her chest. Though he stiffened for a moment, he eventually relaxed and let his shoulders sag. Like a huge weight had been lifted off of his back the moment she embraced him. "I'll do whatever I can to help you through this. And as I said before, it  _will_ take time. Affectionate or not, I'll love you either way."

          It took some time, but eventually, Lon'qu raised his own arms to circle around her waist — a gesture that surprised her as she couldn't recall him doing so of his own accord without her guiding him. He squeezed her waist, and his shoulders heave as he took a deep breath. "Thank you, Robin, I..." The words caught in his throat briefly. "...I love you." He sounded like he wanted to make sure she heard him, but at the same time, it was like he wanted to keep his words to himself. As close as they were, it was almost impossible not to hear him. Robin silently combs her fingers through his hair, humming a bit in satisfaction.

          "I've never told you how proud I am of you for coming as far as you have now, have I?" She asked him, garnering a brief silence.

          "I don't believe you have." Lon'qu answers, which she nodded her head once again.

          "I am." Looking down at him, she leaned into the back of his head with a grin. "And, who knows what will happen in the future..? We may end up with a child by then."

          Lon'qu loudly cleared his throat, which causes her to laugh into his hair. The very thought embarrassed the living daylights out of him. Robin had to admit that she found it adorable for a swordsman like him.


End file.
